Gentleness 2

Sadie is a St. Barnard who has seven puppies, three girls and four boys.

The puppies are rambunctious, except one.  One of the pups named, Pee Wee, is the smallest and his leg doesn’t work well. His left back leg is stiff and shorter than his other three. Pee Wee can walk but it's a slower and painful process. Most of the time, Pee Wee keeps close to his mom, Sadie, instead of running and playing with his siblings.

Sadie realized something was different with Pee Wee right after he was born. She made sure he had enough milk and was warm. Seven puppies is a lot to take care of, but Sadie gives Pee Wee extra attention. Most dogs are good mothers and Sadie is one of the best. She is gentle, kind, and loving.

When the puppies were a few days old, they walked and tried to run everywhere, as long as they didn’t get out of sight of Sadie. If they wondered too far away, Sadie barked a soft short warning. The pups ran back. Their legs were wobbly and they fell a few times or collided with another pup. Sadie smiled a motherly smile, knowing they would grow out of their clumsiness. Pee Wee wasn’t clumsy because he moved slower and took smaller steps. He stayed near her most of the time.

Sadie is gentle as she encourages Pee Wee to move around and walk. It would be easier for Pee Wee to just sit and lie around. Her instincts tell her Pee Wee needs to keep moving. If he doesn’t exercise he may get worse. Sadie loves him and wants him to get stronger. Through the pain he walks. Some days, his leg works better for him and is not so painful.

Sadie teaches her other pups to be kind and gentle with Pee Wee. At first the pups pushed him out of the way when they wanted to eat. That’s when Sadie gently nudged them back and scooted Pee Wee closer to the food. Persistence on Sadie’s part helped the puppies get the message.

There were no favorites. Sadie made sure the pups didn’t feel like Sadie loved Pee Wee more. She loved them all equally. Out of necessity she spent more time with Pee Wee but the other pups never lacked for attention and love.

St. Bernard’s are known to be smart and gentle. Sadie passes them all. She is the most gentle of dogs and the best mom Pee Wee could have wished for.

Pee Wee’s siblings are kind and gentle to him. They learned how from Sadie. To this day, they get along well. All of them spend time with Pee Wee encouraging and loving him. Pee Wee is older now and his limp is barely discernible, I think it’s because of the gentle guidance of his mom.

Gentleness is a great quality. The Lord wants us to be gentle. Gentleness is a gift from the Holy Spirit that He has given us.We should be gentle to others, especially those younger, smaller, or those that have a difficulty. How is your gentleness?

Memorize: Galatians 5: 22-23 But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, GENTLENESS, self-control. Against such there is no law.

Verses in NKJV unless otherwise stated.